Garment hanger



Nov. 18, 1952 G. H. BUGENHAGEN GARMENT HANGER Filed Jan. 16, 1950 INVENToR. 7PM aff/7 Patented Nov. 18, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARMENT HANGER George H. Bugenhagen, Minot, N. Dak.

Application January 16, 1950, Serial-.No..ldl'i (Cl. 22S- 96)v 4. Claims. 1

The invention relates; to a garment. hanger and moreA` particularly to thev type oigarment hanger: wherein. closable. jaws. grip. and hold. the garment. positively during storage of the desired article. of clothing.. Anobjectof the invention is to providea gar.- ment hanger having closable gripping bars which are-susceptible of ready manipulation to close and hold, or open and release a garment.

Another object of the invention is to provvide a garment hanger with very positive locking andl releasing means'.

Still another object is to providea locking' type garment hanger of simple design adaptable to mass4 production methods. from readily available materials.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description taken in connection with the annexed drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the garment hanger of the invention. l

Fig. 2 is an end view showing the essential elements in different positions during the operation of the device.

Fig. 3 is a top sectional plan view taken along lines 3-3 of Fig. 1 viewed in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to Fig. 1, one of two garment gripping bars I is opposed by a second bar 2 (see Fig. 2). Bar I is attached to the one extended leg 3 of hook element 4 as by means of engaging a centrally positioned hole 5 in bar I. The end 6 of leg 3 is conveniently bent at right angles to ensure its retention by the gripping bar or jaw I. A suitably shaped locking member indicated generally by numeral 'I and to be described in greater detail in connection with Fig. 3, is pivotally mounted on the bar I and is operatively associated with the legs of the hanging hook 4.

In Fig. 2 the ends of garment gripping bars I and 2 and locking member 1 are seen in full line in the position assumed when gripping an article and in dotted line in normal open position ready to receive a garment. Additionally it will be apparent that each leg 3 and 8 supporting jaws or bars I and 2 is integral with and is formed at its top end into the double wire hook portion 4 of the hanger. Leg 3 is attached to bar 2 in a similar manner to that described l previously in connection with leg 3 and bar I.

In Fig. 3 the locking mechanism I is shown in greater detail. At one end the locking mechanism is pivotally attached to bar I as by means of the rod like end 9 engaging a hole I0 extendin Fig. 1.

ingY through the. side. of' bar I. The hole IIIv is located. near. the. top of bar I and a. convenient distance from. vertical leg 3. The rod like end S! is bent at right angles where it ismountedin bar I. Thereafter. it extends along the. side of bar I where it is developed in a closed trapezoidal shaped loop with non parallel even length long sides II and I2 extending generally' in the direction of the long axis of the bars l and 2 while the parallel sides I3 andv I4 ofv uneven length extend at right anglesv to the major axis of bars I and 2. The loop is closed at I5 as by twisting the free end ofthe wi're around the side of leg I I at the desired point.

The loop is formed and positioned so that when thelocking assembly is pulled up the wider end of the loop will be loosely engaged with the hanger legs 3 and 8 so as to allow the gripping bars to open up and release a garment or the like. Additionally as the locking mechanism 'I is pressed down the legs 3 and 8 are progressively engaged by the loop toward the narrower end until at the point the trapezoidal loop lies in a parallel plane with the bars I and 2, as seen in Fig. 1, the legs 3 and 8 are closely engaged by end member I4 and sides II and I2 so as to force the bars I and 2 strongly together.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from the following description. Prior to use the locking mechanism I will be brought to the position indicated by dotted lines In this position a pair of trousers, by way of example can be readily inserted so that their cuffs or open leg ends rest between the gripping jaws I and 2. Thereafter the locking lever 1 is moved downwardly as by pressing down on rod I3. When the lever is pressed completely down legs 3 and 8 will be brought into a generally parallel position so that any tendency toward self release will be avoided. At the same time the legs 3 and 8 and hence the garment gripping jaws I and 2 will be urged together to positively and strongly grip the garment.

To release the garment it is only necessary to raise the locking lever 'I which causes the gripping jaws to separate.

It will be apparent that the jaws may be made from a variety of materials among which might be mentioned, wood, plastics, and metals while the remainder of the device is simply and economically made as from heavy gauge metal wire which lends itself to ready assembly.

I claim:

1. In a garment hanger the combination which includes paired gripping bars, upwardly extending resilient hanger arms attached to said bars formed at the upper end into an open hook member, said hanger arms being joined together at the upper end, a locking member pivotally mounted on one of the gripping bars, said locking member being formed with a generally trapezoidal shaped opening in which the hanger arms are positioned whereby upward movement of the locking member positions the hanger arms at the wide end of the opening and downward movement positions the arms at the narrow end.

2. In a garment hanger the combination which includes a pair of garment gripping jaws, a resilient bifurcate member formed at its upper end into a curved hook member said bifurcate member having integral with the curved hook member extending legs and with each leg attached at its lower end to a respective gripping jaw so as to hold the jaws in normally spaced apart face to vface relation, a locking member pivotally mounted on one of the jaws and formed to provide a wedge shaped opening in which the bifurcate member is positioned, said locking member being adapted to move up and down over the bifurcate member upon being suitably urged so as to bring the widest portion of the wedge shaped opening into proximity with the bifurcate member when the locking member is raised and to bring the narrowest portion of the wedge shaped opening into contact with the bifurcate member when the locking member is lowered whereby to open and close the garment gripping jaws.

3. In a garment hanger the combination which includes rectangular gripping jaws, a resilient metal rod member attached centrally to each jaw and extending upwardly to form a curved open hook member, said rod members being `ioined together at their upper ends, a locking member pivotally mounted for arcuate motion and formed to provide a Wedge shaped opening in which the metal rod members are positioned, said locking member being adapted to bring the metal rod members close together at the narrow end of the wedge shaped opening and to allow the metal rod members to separate when the locking member is rotated through degrees to bring the rod members into the wide portion of the wedge shaped opening.

4. In a garment hanger the combination which includes a continuous length of resilient metal Wire doubled and formed at the doubled end into a curved open hook member with the ends of said wire being formed into legs, gripping jaws carried in normally spaced apart relation by said legs, and a member adapted to release and close the jaws pivotally mounted on one of the jaws for arcuate motion, said releasing and closing member being formed at one end into a closed loop of generally rectangular shape narrower at one end than the other, said loop being adapted to move up and down on the jaw carrying legs to bring the legs into the narrowest and the widest portion of the loop.

GEORGE H. BUGENHAGEN.

Name Date Number Chesler Sept. 16, v1947 

